Srinagar, July 7: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader and former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir on Monday urged the J&K government to follow the revised COVID-19 guidelines which allow home isolation of mild or asymptomatic coronavirus infection cases.
In a statement issued here, Mir observed that in the background of the rising number of COVID cases the hospitals across J&K especially the tertiary care centres are overburdened with COVID management. “In such a situation the home isolation procedure can provide a big relief to both the doctors as well as the patients,” Mir remarked.
The JKAP leader stressed on the need for establishment of a centralized monitoring system in both divisions of Jammu and Kashmir to allocate beds in government and private hospitals which will eventually eliminate the delay in allotment of beds and ICU facilities to the more serious COVID patients in their respective zones.
He said since the COVID-19 cases are rising in J&K there are instances of non-availability of beds and other requisite facilities and the hospitals have started to shift asymptomatic and stable patients to quarantine facilities to reserve beds in hospitals for those in need of treatment.
“Amid these circumstances the asymptomatic patients or even those with mild symptoms should be shifted for home isolation, provided they have the requisite facilities at their residence,” Mir demanded.
The former minister stressed on government established task forces to strictly abide by the revised guidelines and ensure effective overseeing activities such as shifting of patients to care centres and designated hospitals, contact tracing, testing and management of containment zones.
“Instead of shifting the mild symptomatic or asymptomatic patients to administrative quarantine centres the hospital authorities should shift them to their respective residences for isolation. Such patients and their caregivers should be asked to strictly adhere to the quarantine guidelines,” Mir opined.
He said in view of the revised guidelines, there is no need to keep the asymptomatic patients or those suspected for coronavirus infection in the hospital when they can be managed effectively at their respective homes with the intent to break the chain of transmission.
“Once such patients with specific age groups as mentioned in the guidelines are clinically assigned as very mild/mild, asymptomatic they can be shifted for self-isolation to their homes where they can experience speedy recovery,” he added.
